


Pierced

by Isra



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alcohol, BDSM, Blood, College, D/s, First Time, Kink, M/M, Piercing, Profanity, play piercing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 21:09:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4640304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isra/pseuds/Isra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhett’s in college and wants to try something new, and of course he’s going to bring Link along for the ride.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pierced

**Author's Note:**

> These characters are not taking proper safety precautions for this kind of play, because they don’t know any better. Please don’t do this at home.

It started, as most things did, with Rhett having a crush on a girl. That sort of thing happened often, and not just with girls — he frequently had crushes on foods, like the time he discovered pad thai and ate it every day for a week; and crushes on topics, like when he became obsessed with model planes and filled his bedroom with them at thirteen. His mind just seemed to latch onto things for brief periods of time to the exclusion of all else, and he’d learned to ride the wave and enjoy it for however long it brought him pleasure.

As part of this paradigm, he fervently believed that college was a time of experimentation in all things. He wanted to expand his mind and body with all the new experiences he’d missed by growing up in such a small town. Nearly everything that was offered to him, he accepted. Since getting to NC State last year, he’d eagerly dipped his toes into exotic foods, alcohol, drugs (nothing too hardcore of course), determining what he enjoyed and abandoning the rest. He felt he was discovering his true self while expanding his tastes and refining his palate at the same time. Most of the time, Link joined him in trying these things, though it often took some cajoling and the promise that Rhett would do it first.

He also had crushes on boys, but he kept those to himself.  He hadn’t yet worked up the courage to tell Link about his desire to experiment with men, specifically with his best friend. How he’d love to run his hands all over that lithe little body and touch the few parts of it that remained hidden from Rhett after all these years! He suspected Link had an idea of his desires — more and more of their late-night, inebriated conversations tended toward flirtation — and, moreover, he had a pretty good idea that the brunet would be up for a little fun. 

But he didn’t want to make a move for fear of putting their friendship in jeopardy. Despite his eager pursuit of other newfound pleasures, his friendship with Link was still the most important thing in his life. Knowing his tendency to burn up his obsessions and then become bored with them, he didn’t want that dynamic to enter into his relationship with Link. The bond they had felt like bedrock, solid and eternal, and he needed to be able to depend on it.

So he kept his urges to himself whenever Link came back to their dorm room dripping wet from the shower, a skimpy towel around his waist. He didn’t try to escalate things when they tickled and wrestled and crammed together on the couch for movie night in the rec room. He figured he had all the time in the world for them to get around to taking each other for a spin. In the meantime, there were girls.

His newest crush was in his Anthropology class, a popular elective for sophomores trying to round out their schedules. Her name was Kelly and she caught his eye for the same reason she caught everyone’s: bright pink hair that stood up in spikes, tattoos peeking out from under the straps of her tank tops, and a significant number of piercings: eyebrow and nose in addition to a series of rings in both ears. When he struck up a conversation with her after class, he noted the intriguing flash of a tongue ring as well.

He hadn’t thought too much about body modifications before, but she was amused to tell him all about hers, and he was immediately fascinated. They went on a few dates where it was a frequent topic of conversation, and it wasn’t long before she convinced him to get his earlobes pierced. She offered to do it herself and he thought that was a great idea.

Link laughed at him when he returned to their dorm room that night, earlobes stinging and red but proudly displaying a single silver stud in each. Rhett was still high on adrenaline from the experience. “It barely hurt, brother!” he crowed. “It was like a coming-of-age ritual.  I’m a real man now.”

The brunet pulled him down by the shoulder for closer inspection. “A real man with earrings,” Link scoffed. “Try not to bleed all over our room.”

Rhett fingered the studs gingerly. “It should’ve stopped by no — ouch!”

It took a few weeks for the holes to heal, during which time any potential romance with Kelly fizzled. It wasn’t that they disliked each other, just reached a mutual agreement that they’d work better as friends. However, in his idle moments, Rhett found himself craving more of that particular high he’d experienced when she’d pierced his ears. 

One evening, he and Link were sitting in their room, passing a bottle of Jack Daniels back and forth while trying to think of how to amuse themselves further. Rhett was feeling pretty good; he was enjoying Link’s company and the alcohol made him feel loose and invincible. Link was looking exceptionally good these days with his dark hair swept up and back from his face, and the shadow of a few day’s stubble highlighting his sharp jaw. Rhett wanted to do something exciting, something memorable. “What if we gave ourselves some piercings?” he suggested.

“Huh?” Link wrapped his lips around the bottle and took a swig. “I don’t want earrings.”

Rhett took the bottle back. He thought about Link’s mouth as he drank, savoring the indirect kiss transferred by the cold glass. “It don’t have to be ears.”

“I don’t want metal in my face.”

Rhett grinned at him and raised a lascivious brow. “Don’t have to be face either.” 

Link’s blue eyes widened. “I’m not piercin’ my dick, dude.”

They both laughed. Rhett gestured at his friend with the bottle. “Why’d your mind immediately go there? Nah, I was thinking nipples, actually.” 

Link looked surprised. “Oh… I hadn’t thought of that.” He brought his hands to his chest and rubbed his NC State t-shirt thoughtfully. 

Rhett watched his long fingers press into the musculature. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. And like a rite of passage we can share.”

The brunet’s brows furrowed. “And the next time we play shirts n’ skins and people see we have matching nipple rings?”

Rhett shrugged. “They’ll know we’re badass.”

“Mm, true. “ Link seemed to be warming up to the idea. “You know how to do it? What do we need?”

“I dunno, but I bet Kelly does. I’ll be right back.” 

Before Link could reconsider, Rhett leapt to his feet. He caught the back of his chair as he swayed, waiting for his brain to catch up to the sudden change in elevation. He didn’t feel all that drunk, but there was definitely a pleasant tipsiness going on in addition to a new excitement that thrummed through his limbs. The idea he’d mentioned on a whim suddenly seemed very compelling. He handed the bottle back to Link and left the room, making his way downstairs and across the quad to the girls’ dorm where Kelly stayed. She was hanging out with some friends and laughed when he told her why he was there.

“You wanna bring Link back here and I can do you both?” she offered. “We could make a party outta it.” 

Rhett glanced at the other two girls smiling at him from where they sprawled on Kelly’s bed and grinned. That had the potential for some fun, certainly. But then he thought of Link waiting for him in their dorm room and imagined being alone with him for what was surely going to be an intense experience. Both of them tipsy, shirtless, maybe even touching each other’s chests…

“Nah, no thanks. You gals don’t need to see us screaming and crying.”

She shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat.” She dug through her closet for some supplies and gave him a quick explanation of the process. He thanked her and promised to let her know how it went, then hustled back to the room he shared with Link. 

When he got there, Link was sprawled on Rhett’s bunk (a common occurrence when the man didn’t feel like climbing up to his), bottle in hand and a thoughtful look on his face. He sat up when Rhett came over to the bed and brandished a small plastic bag. “Wow, you actually got it?”

“Yeah, Kelly says have fun.” He cleared a spot on his desk by the bed and dumped the bag onto it: a couple needles, a small piece of cork, a handful of alcohol swab packets, and two tiny steel rods with balls on the ends. “It’s pretty simple,” he explained. “Just clean everything off and push the needle through into the cork, then replace the needle with one of these.” He unscrewed a ball from one of the rods. 

Link looked a little pale as he set down the bottle. “So we’re only doing one each?”

“Yeah, for starters… we can always do more if we like it!”

The brunet chuckled. His eyes followed Rhett’s movements closely. “So uh… is there, like, a gay and straight side?”

Rhett scoffed. “Not that I know of.” _Besides,_ he thought, _then I’d have to pierce something in the middle. And you too, probably._

Link pulled off his t-shirt and tossed it to the floor. He was wearing large, loose cargo shorts and no shoes. “We gonna do ourselves?”

“Is that how you wanna do it?”

Link thought about it. “I don’t think I can do it to myself. Maybe we should do each other.”

Rhett smirked. “Works for me.”

The blond was busy cleaning off the needle and barbells with one of the alcohol swabs, and when he looked up he saw Link was cupping his chest and pinching his nipples between his thumbs and forefingers as he stared into space. “Uh…” Rhett said.

“Tryin’ to figure out if one is gonna hurt more than the other,” Link explained. “I think they’re about the same.” He stopped pinching and instead began to rub his nipples with his fingertips. “What?” he said in response to Rhett’s raised brow. “I figure it’s gotta be erect for it to work.”           

“Er… I guess you’re right.” Rhett hadn’t thought that far ahead, but now his eyes were drawn to Link’s chest and the way the man’s hands moved over himself. Link had never been terribly muscular, but he’d gained some nice definition in the past few years that was currently highlighted by his tan. Rhett pulled his attention back down to the materials in his hands. “Maybe you should do me first, though,” Rhett suggested. “You might be too shaky after you get yours done.”

Link’s fear of needles had already been well established over the years. He could tell Link was about to protest, then the man’s hands dropped in defeat. “You’re probably right.”

Rhett spread out the alcohol wipe on the desk and laid the needle and barbell on top of it. He pulled off his own shirt and added it to the pile of dirty clothes in the corner, then took a swig from the bottle to steady his nerves. He was thinking more about getting close to Link and being touched by him than about the pain of the piercing itself, which seemed a small price to pay.

He pulled the desk chair over and sat down, facing Link. He scooted forward so his knees were around both of the other man’s, which he squeezed with excitement as he gestured toward his right nipple. His heart was beating fast.

Link leaned over and peered at Rhett’s chest, his warm breath ghosting over the curly blond hairs, then sat up. “Your nipples are so tiny, dude, you gotta make it stand up to gimme something to work with.”

Rhett decided to take a chance. “Why don’t you do it?” He met Link’s raised brow with a cheeky grin. “As part of a full-service professional piercer.”

“I’m no professional.” Link rolled his eyes. “But fine, whatever.”

Rhett was surprised the other man agreed so quickly, but he wasn’t going to question it. He closed his eyes as Link reached out and caressed his right nipple, pinching it and rolling it lightly between his fingers. It didn’t feel like anything too special — Rhett’s nipples had never been terribly sensitive — but just the sensation of Link touching him anywhere was nice. He smelled the woodsy whiskey on the man’s breath and the faint spice of his deodorant.

“Okay, there it is.” Link’s voice was tense. Rhett looked down and saw his nipple was sticking out ever so slightly. Link wiped it off with an alcohol swab, then picked up the needle and cork and held them to either side of the small nub of flesh. “Ready?” he asked.

Rhett took a deep breath and nodded, closing his eyes again. Link leaned forward in concentration and his hair brushed against Rhett’s face. The larger man was so focused on Link’s proximity that he barely felt the needle go in; he only noticed when the other man pulled away to pick up the barbell. “And then I just push this through after the needle?” he asked.

“Mmhmm.” 

There were a few gentle tugs on Rhett’s nipple that caused it to sting as Link pushed the needle through, following it with the end of barbell missing its ball. Once it was through, he put down the needle and cork and screwed the ball on, then leaned back with a loud exhalation. “Whew!”

Rhett looked down at the small horizontal bar now going through his flesh. His nipple was pink and there was a tiny bit of blood, but for the most part the barbell was sealing the wound by itself. He broke into a grin. “That looks awesome! Good job, man!” 

Link flumped back onto the mattress with a laugh. “Gosh, I don’t think I breathed that entire time! And look, I’m shaking!” He held up his hand, which Rhett could see tremble. “That was intense. I thought for sure you were gonna scream or something.”

Rhett stood up and admired his chest in the mirror. His knees felt a little weak. The silver barbell gleamed. “It didn’t hurt that much. I think even you’ll be able to handle it.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.” Link’s sarcasm was no match for his sense of accomplishment, and he was still grinning by the time Rhett returned to the chair. The brunet sat back up and shifted to the edge of the bunk so Rhett could easily reach him. “I guess I’ll do the left, so we’re less matchy.”

Rhett shrugged. “All right. You want me to…” he gestured toward Link’s chest.

“Get my nipple all excited? Yup, fair’s fair.” 

Rhett’s tongue snaked out to wet his lips as he reached out and cupped Link’s chest, feeling the firm pectoral muscle under his palm. He ran his thumb over the man’s nipple and immediately felt it respond, tightening and perking up. Link let out a soft noise and closed his eyes, and Rhett felt a thrill of excitement. That was not the reaction he’d been expecting.

He tried to keep it casual as he commented, “Yours seems a bit, ah, more sensitive than mine.”

“Mmhmm.” Link’s hum was breathy. Rhett tried pinching the nipple ever so lightly, and Link let out another noise of pleasure. He pinched harder and the man actually let out a moan, then his eyes flew open and he flinched back away from Rhett’s touch. “Sorry! Uh… sorry about that.”

The carnal noise had gone straight to Rhett’s groin and he felt the warmth of arousal gathering inside of him. He’d always wondered what these sorts of noises would sound like coming from Link’s throat. “No, that’s okay, um…” He rubbed the back of his neck, torn between backing down and seeing where this could go. “It’s okay if you enjoy it, I don’t mind.” 

He picked up the whiskey bottle and took a quick drink, then Link took it from him and did the same. They exchanged nervous smiles before Link appeared to come to a decision. “Okay, well… keep going, I guess.”

Rhett licked his lips and reached out again, rubbing and pinching Link’s nipple while the man half-swallowed further noises of happiness. With Link’s eyes closed, Rhett stole a glance downward at the man’s crotch, and thought he saw something happening there as well. This was turning into one very exciting evening. 

He wanted to keep fondling Link’s chest and maybe move on to fondling other things, but something still held him back and made him stick to the script. He let go of Link and picked up the piercing equipment, and when he turned back he saw the other man’s hooded blue eyes regarding him intently. “Ready?” Rhett asked.

“Mmhmm,” Link leaned forward. 

Rhett wiped the man’s nipple with alcohol and placed the needle and cork on opposite sides of it. He took a deep breath to steady himself, then warned, “Here it comes.”

He pushed the needle through the small nub of flesh as Link let out all of his breath in a low, throaty moan. The noise made Rhett’s cock stir and he made a soft grunt of his own. The tip of the needle entered the cork and Rhett had turned to pick up the barbell and complete the piercing when Link whispered, “Wait.”

He turned back and saw Link looking at him with dilated eyes and a pink flush across his cheeks and throat. “Something wrong?” Rhett asked.

“No, it’s…“ Link blinked rapidly as his chest quickly rose and fell. He hesitated, then seemed to come to a decision when his words came out in a rush. “It felt really good and I don’t want it to be over just yet.”

Rhett thought for a moment.  He certainly didn’t want it to be over yet, either. “If you liked how the needle felt… I could do your other one with the other needle,” he offered. “We don’t have jewelry to put in it but —“ 

“Yes!” Link looked embarrassed and hungry at the same time. “Please do that.” He squirmed, rubbing his knees together between Rhett’s, and Rhett could see the bulge in the man’s shorts was significantly larger now. 

As Rhett sterilized the other needle, he decided there was no use pretending this was anything other than what it was. “Why don’t you lie down?” he suggested. “I’ll join you.” 

Link immediately scooted back on the mattress and lay down on his back. “Good idea,” he said. 

Rhett climbed onto the narrow bed and lay on his side facing Link. He put his forearm across Link’s collarbones, as if holding him down, even though they both knew the brunet wasn’t going to struggle. He felt his friend’s heart pounding hard beneath his skin. He brought his other hand with the needle to the man’s right nipple and didn’t bother with the cork this time. “Ready?” he asked.

Link nodded and closed his eyes, breathing shallowly through parted lips. He let out a groan as Rhett slowly pushed the needle through his nipple and stopped when it was halfway through. Rhett looked up and saw Link’s eyes were rolled back in his head and for a moment he thought the man had fainted, but Link’s shifting hips made it clear it was a pleasure response instead. Rhett smiled to himself and brought his leg up over Link’s groin, pressing down gently and rubbing the hardness with his knee. The brunet gasped, then practically shrieked when Rhett lightly touched his swollen nipples. 

Rhett leaned down and began kissing the sparse dark hair over Link’s sternum. “You like that?” he purred.

“It’s so good, _fuck_ …” Link’s hips twitched with every movement of Rhett’s fingers and every teasing motion of Rhett’s knee. He adored seeing Link helplessly awash in pleasure; it made him feel powerful and hot. He began to rub his own hardness against Link’s hip, seeking stimulation through the shorts they were both wearing. 

He nuzzled one of Link’s nipples, then stuck out his tongue and ran it over the nub, tasting blood and metal and skin. He felt Link’s chest heaving underneath him and grinned. He nibbled the hot flesh and was rewarded with a string of half-coherent profanity. “Rhett, Jesus… I want… oh fuck… _fuck_ …” 

Rhett rose up on his elbow and leaned over Link’s writhing form, still toying with one of the man’s nipples with his free hand. “Look at me, Link,” he ordered.

Link struggled to open his eyes and focus on Rhett’s face; his expression was dazed as he let out a whine through his nose.

“What do you want?” Rhett asked. “Tell me.”

“Oh, gosh…” Link seemed overwhelmed by the possibilities. “I… I want you to keep doing this for hours…” He moaned as Rhett gently twisted one of the needles. “Fuck, it feels so good… but I also want...” His voice grew quiet as he whispered his confession. “I want you.”

Rhett brought his face close to Link’s and stared down into the man’s dilated eyes. “I am so very glad to hear that,” he murmured, then leaned forward and pressed their lips together. Link responded eagerly to the kiss, immediately opening his mouth and inviting Rhett’s tongue. Rhett groaned as the intoxicating taste of his best friend made his head spin faster than any alcohol ever could. Link’s lips were firm and full and his stubble scratched against Rhett’s upper lip. His tongue was agile as it pressed against Rhett’s, mirroring the blond man’s wordless confession of desire long suppressed. 

Rhett was so lost in the kiss that he barely noticed when the other man reached down between them, but he certainly felt when Link’s long fingers caressed the outside of his shorts. He moaned as Link’s hand circled the outline of his erection. Their kisses were rough and wet and desperate.

It wasn’t long before the brunet grew impatient with their clothing and unfastened Rhett’s waistband, tugging and pulling until Rhett laughed and helped him. Together they slipped Rhett’s shorts and underwear off, then Rhett made short work of removing Link’s as well. He straddled Link’s now naked hips and leaned over him with a grin.

They both looked down at their mutual nakedness, taking in the sight of each other’s arousal. Rhett thought he should be nervous being with a man for the first time, but he felt only excitement and an enormous sense of intimacy. He realized he had never felt this comfortable or confident with any of his previous partners, but with Link, they’d built trust between them over many years. It didn’t seem possible that anything could go wrong because everything felt so right. 

He watched as Link contemplated his manhood in open admiration, then reached down and grasped it in his hand. Rhett groaned as Link began to stroke him, slowly and carefully, figuring out which angle and pressure worked best. Rhett braced himself on one hand and leaned down to Link’s chest, resuming his attention on the man’s nipples. Small trickles of blood were coming from each of them, thin dark lines on Link’s tanned skin. Rhett lapped up the blood and nipped carefully around the needles, savoring the salty skin and soft dark hair as Link shivered and moaned. 

The brunet paused to run his tongue over his hand, coating his palm with saliva before returning to pump faster on Rhett’s cock. Rhett’s thighs began to quiver and his hips twitched, rocking in tandem with Link’s movements. He wasn’t going to last very long with this beautiful man writhing and moaning below him, his own hard cock inches from Rhett’s own.  Rhett kissed his way up Link’s flushed neck and back to his face, where he rejoined their mouths fervently. “You’re so hot,” he panted, still thrusting up into the wonderful long fingers that held him. “I’m close. I wanna come on your chest.”

“Ohh gosh, yes,” Link responded, delirious with desire. “I want you to come all over me.”

Rhett sat up and clutched the bottom of the bedframe above his head, holding his weight up off of his friend’s body and looking down to admire the view. Link’s hand moved faster, gliding from the base of Rhett’s cock to the head, pausing every now and then to collect precome from the tip to add to the slipperiness. Link reached his other hand down and cupped Rhett’s balls, massaging them gently and pressing into the sensitive space behind them and driving Rhett absolutely wild. “Fuuuuck, Link, yes, do that, keep doing that, _fuck_!” Rhett squeezed his eyes shut and focused on the delicious sensations of Link’s hands on him, listening to Link’s own moans of sympathetic pleasure. 

Rhett reached the edge with a rough cry and Link tightened his grip, stroking him hard and fast as the big man began to come. Rhett opened his eyes and watched his thick white seed spurt over Link’s naked body, claiming it for his own. The first gout hit the brunet up under the chin and the second spattered across his collarbones; the rest dribbled over Link’s stomach, leaving a glistening mess. Rhett moaned and shuddered as his orgasm subsided and Link released him, looking quite pleased with himself. 

Rhett leaned down and kissed his friend-turned-lover, breathing hard. “That was amazing,” he panted. “You have such wonderful hands.”

“Mmm, good,” Link purred, still clearly very aroused. His hips rolled up and his hard manhood slid against Rhett’s body, hot and demanding. 

“I suppose it’s only fair if I return the favor,” Rhett murmured, and Link hummed in agreement. He shifted to lay on his side next to Link, leaning over him with his upper body. First he caressed Link’s bare hip and thigh, loving the way the smooth skin warmed to his touch. Then he made his way to the man’s large cock and marveled at the heavy sensation of it in his hand. Link let out a soft moan as Rhett began stroking him, then a louder one as Rhett hooked his free arm over Link’s head and used his hand to tease one of the brunet’s battered nipples. 

“Tell me if it hurts too much,” Rhett ordered. “I only want to make you feel good.”

Link nodded. “It does hurt, but I like it,” he panted. “I like the pain. Everything you’re doing feels incredible.”

Rhett bent down and put his mouth on Link’s other nipple, and his cock twitched at the taste of his own come on the man’s skin. Link’s enthusiastic noises were better than Rhett had ever imagined they could be. The smaller man’s hips thrust rhythmically and one of his hands twined into Rhett’s hair, pulling him close in a request for more. Rhett closed his teeth gently around the nipple in front of him and listened to Link’s whines of pleasure. With his other hand, he carefully grasped the needle that was in the other nipple and shifted it back and forth inside the flesh.

“Oh fuck, oh _fuck_ , Rhett… ahh, gosh!” Link was in sensory overload from the three different points of stimulation, barely able to breathe as the muscles in his torso spasmed. His body was slick with sweat and come as he writhed against Rhett, unable to do anything but helplessly ride the waves of sensation. Rhett took his time trying different ways of teasing Link’s painfully sensitive nipples with his hands and mouth, all the while stroking the man’s cock at a languid pace. Knowing how quickly Link had gotten aroused, he didn’t want it to be over too soon.  

Link was desperate for release, breathlessly begging as he thrust into Rhett’s hand. At times Rhett would back off, chuckling at the needy sounds that came from Link’s throat. If Link grew too bold in his demands, Rhett stopped stroking him entirely and instead grasped both needles in his hands, moving them in and out through the flesh as Link swore and moaned. Link would come when Rhett was ready for him to come, and both of them knew it. 

Finally, Rhett decided it was time for the grand finale. He leaned up and kissed his friend once more, letting the man taste Rhett’s come and his own blood in the kiss. Link’s hands scrabbled for purchase on Rhett’s shoulders, his fingernails digging in. “Rhett!” he gasped, hips jerking as the bigger man’s mouth returned to his chest. “I can’t — please — please, I need — ah!“ 

Rhett moved his hand fast and rough on Link’s cock and held the man’s nipple tightly in his teeth. Soon he heard a strangled cry as Link’s entire body stiffened, then a moment later Link’s cock pulsed and there was a splash of heat across Rhett’s chest. He kept stroking as more of Link’s come spilled out into the space between them, adding to the slick and sticky mess. The brunet gasped and shuddered, muscles clenching in uncontrolled ecstasy. When he was done, he clung to Rhett and buried his face in the crook of the blond’s neck, whimpering as his body continued to twitch. 

Rhett held him gently, mindful of the needles still in the man’s flesh. “Shhh, I got you,” he told him, stroking his sweat-soaked hair away from his face. “I love you.” 

They lay for a while, clinging to the reality of each other after the chaotic intensity of their experience. Link nuzzled Rhett’s cheek until the bigger man turned to him, then kissed him softly. “I love you too,” he rasped, his voice strained from vigorous use. He took a few long, shivery breaths. “No one’s ever made me feel that way before.”

Rhett recalled the sensation of having Link at his mercy, the rush of power and the ultimate trust they had demonstrated in each other.  “Me neither,” he realized.

Rhett leaned back and looked at Link’s bruised and battered chest, unsurprised to learn he still found it quite attractive despite the mess. “We should probably deal with this before your endorphins wear off entirely,” he suggested. “Which one do you want to keep?”

Link grinned dreamily, still floating in his afterglow. “The right one, what the heck. We can match.” 

Rhett carefully removed the needle from Link’s left nipple, then did the same on the right while inserting the barbell. He wiped down both wounds with a new alcohol swab, apologizing when Link hissed at the sting. Then he picked up his t-shirt and used it to clean them both off as best he could before dropping it back into the laundry pile. He got a bottle of water from the fridge and had Link drink half of it, then finished it off before climbing back into bed next to his best friend.

He opened his arms and Link cuddled into them gratefully, pressing his face into the crook of Rhett’s neck and letting out a long sigh. “How’re you feeling?” Rhett asked.

“Exhausted. But amazing.” Link’s fingertips absently kneaded Rhett’s lower back. “I’m glad we finally did that.”

Rhett chuckled. “Stab each other with needles?”

“Nah.” Link leaned back until he could focus on Rhett’s eyes, and his expression was thoughtful. “The needles are new. I mean all the rest of it. I’ve been wantin’ to for a while… okay, for years… but I was never sure it was a good idea.”

“I’ve been waitin’ for the right time myself,” Rhett admitted. “I figured it was only a matter of time, though. College is for experimenting, after all.”

Link giggled softly as his arms tightened around Rhett’s waist. “And would you call this experiment a success?”

“Absolutely.” 


End file.
